Visual Rhetoric
Introduction According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as "the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, esp. the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques" (Merriam-Webster Online). Therefore, visual rhetoric would be defined as the effective or persuasive use of visual items to urge a certain view or establish an argument. Visual rhetoric is portrayed in three ways: logos, ethos, and pathos (wikipedia.org). Logos Logos is one of the three tools of visual rhetoric. It is rational appeal and is usually portrayed in the manner of facts or statistics (Alfano). This type of rhetoric is very effective to logical type thinkers and gives support to the product by real facts and numbers. Logos gives credit to outside sources and boosts the ethos of the author by showing that they "know what they are talking about." It takes time collecting the research and sources for this key to good visual rhetoric, but if used correctly, it can be extremely effective. Ethos Ethos is also known as ethical appeal. It is the credibility of the author and how much the audience is able to trust and believe what the author is persuading (Alfano). Ethos can be made by how well the author portrays his/her picture and its effectiveness. An example of ethos could be seen in the choice of typography, or font choice, used by the author (owl.english.purdue.edu). Ethos can also be improved by using celebrities or known figures in visuals that certain audiences can relate to. Pathos Pathos is the last of the three tools of visual rhetoric. It is the appeal to the audience (Alfano). Pathos will change from piece to piece because the author decides what type of audience he/she would like to appeal to. Diction plays a very large role in pathos. For example, if an author wants to appeal to younger children, he/she may use a verb such as "good" instead of "exquisite" because a younger audience may not know what the word exquisite means. Pathos is also established in how the piece or advertisement is organized because different types of organizations appeal to different ages. Canons There are five canons that help portray visual rhetoric (Alfano). They can be remembered as an acronym known as "MAIDS." These five canons consist of memory, arrangement, invention, delivery, and style. If these five things are used correctly and efficiently, the visual rhetoric of a piece will be greatly enhanced. These five canons are used in the logos, ethos, and pathos to help strengthen and organize a piece of visual rhetoric. Sources Alfano, Chrisitne, and O'Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. 2 ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print. "Jennifer Lopez ." 27 August 2009. piczjenniferlopez.blogspot.com. 26 September 2010. Katzenberber, Matt. "Visual Rhetoric ." 10 September 2009. Flickr.com. 22 September 2010. "Rhetoric - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Merriam-Webster Online . Web. 8 October 2010 "Visual Rhetoric." Wikipedia. 22 June 2010. Wikipedia.org. 26 September 2010. "Visual Rhetoric: Overview ." owl.english.purdue.edu. 26 September 2010. p.s. The Purdue Owl source is the last in this list, and if there isn't an author I couldn't find one on the website.